Having a baby to safe a life!

A York couple have turned to IVF specialists in an attempt to have a baby that could save the life of their desperately ill son.

Caroline and Ben Rhodes, aged 32 and 27, are trying to raise tens of thousands of pounds to fund genetic screening treatment.

Their 2 year old son William suffers from a rare form of anaemia and needs monthly blood transfusions.

He's likely to have serious health problems if he survives into his teenage years without a bone-marrow transplant.

Now Ben and Caroline, from Hamilton Drive in Holgate, hope stem cells from the umbilical cord of a tissue-matched brother or sister could save William’s life.

They hope to begin trying to conceive this year and are in a race against time to have the treatment while William is healthy, as his monthly blood transfusions cause a dangerous iron overload in his system.

Family and friends have started fundraising, as Ben and Caroline may need in excess of £60,000 to pay for the treatment and for William’s aftercare.

Caroline's told Minster FM:

"We would like to say a massive thank you to all our family, friends and to the general public and businesses who have supported us with fundraising so far. If there is anyone out there wanting to help us please get in touch @ thewilliamrhodesappeal@hotmail.co.uk, every penny really does count. This means so much to us and will give William the quality of life he very much deserves. Thank you so very much."